"New life" does not imply moral perfectibility, nor does it necessarily guarantee worldly success or respectability.
True
No matter what your station is in life, whether married or single, male or female, occupation, how much money you earn, etc, if one has put his faith in Lord Jesus, he is now a disciple of Lord Jesus - a Christian. If you are not a disciple of Lord Jesus, then you are not a Christian, because "Christian" means "disciple."
What does it mean to be a Christian (disciple)?
That life is represented in Baptism, which is:
- Dying to the old life ruled by self-serving lusts and passions at the expense of others, which includes allowing food or drink, popularity, power, money, material possession, etc to become our idol that we live for and serve. We die to this old way of life of living for the material world serving out passions and lusts.
- We die to that old life, and we rise to a new life in Christ - a life in which we now follow Lord Jesus into a righteous life of love.
Righteousness means to treat others with care and love, helping others, doing no harm to anyone, not using or abusing others, but rather, serving others. Righteousness is to live decent and moral lives of honesty, integrity, being truthful and trustworthy.
Love is expressed in the following Passage:
1 Corinthians 13:3-8 (WEB)
3 If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; 6 doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.
Many Scriptures sum up this new life in Christ Jesus. One of those Passages is
Colossians 3:1-17. Please read when you have time, and also:
Romans 6:1-23;
1 Corinthians 10:1-12;
Galatians 6:7-9;
Ephesians 5:3-9;
2 Timothy 2:19;
Hebrews 12:14-17;
1 Peter 1:13-19;
Revelation 3:1-5. .
Another similar Passage is
Galatians 5:13-25 as follows:
Galatians 5:13-25 (WEB)
13 For you, brothers, were called for freedom.
Only do not use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [Leviticus 19:18] 15 But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.
16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which
I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24
Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
